Brimstone
by Winterwarrior
Summary: Sarcasim rules over one mutant. The story of Ashley Tridian and her experience with the X-Men. Will anyone be able to handle it? Will anyone survive?
1. Prologue

_**Brimstone**_

**Prologue**

_**Hi. My name is Ashley Tridian to family,**_

_**Mack to everyone else,**_

_**and to villains, I am called... I don't know yet.**_

_**I'm still trying to figure this hero biz stuff out. When I was 4 years old I started all the types of martial arts training you could think of; Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Tai Chi, long sword, staff, dagger, etc. At age 15 I found out that I had really awesome powers, at the price of my sister's life. And that I was a mutie, a mutant. Something to do with my DNA and stuff like that. I'm 18 now, and have a pretty good idea how to use my skills, and powers. **_

_**Wanna know a little secret? When I first got my powers I freaked out and traveled across the whole continent to try to control my mutation. After 9 months when I came home, I went online looking for everything on the subject to help me with my training. I read a billion comics on the X-men, Spider-man, Wolverine, anything I could find on my powers, but I couldn't find nothing about my 'special' abilities. You see, I can control the elements. You know, Earth, Fire, Water, Air? And I'm not talking about using them, I'm talking about completely being able to manipulate them to do anything for me. I guess you could consider me a class Omega mutant. While I was doing my 'research' I fell in love with the idea of becoming a X-man and impressing the team.**_

_**I'm not just brunt and brawn you know, I have a pretty good brain to use and I use it to it's full potential. I knew about Cerebra and Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning. So I waited 'till one of the X-man came for me. But not before I got some crime fighting in before. I usually only use the Fire and Earth elements in a fight but I still train with Air and Water. Criminals used to call me 'that guy' or 'that costume', something relative to that. I used to cover my entire face with my duds (Costume) and the crimeys saw me as a guy because of how my costume looked and my fighting style. Anyways, I'll take you back to the beginning when it all started, when I was accepted into Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning...**_


	2. The Begging

**Chapter 1**

The Begging

_3 Years Ago..._

**I sighed. How much more boring could this get? Being in an Algebra class, where you already know everything the teacher knows, and it's for 45 minutes each day, that is. I glanced up at my teacher, Ms. Foresburg. She looked down at the worksheet we were supposed to do. "Are you done Ashley?" she asked. "Yep." I said smiling. "Will you go put it on my desk then?" "Sure." I got up and walked over to her black metal desk and set the paper in the center. Walking back to my desk, I found myself jumping over someone's outstretched foot. I glanced at the owner. A boy my age with blonde hair with a disappointed face sat angrily in his chair. "Nice try." I whispered tauntingly and walked the rest of the way to my desk. 'That was weird. I knew when and where he was going to put his foot...ah well, probably just my martial arts training.' I thought to myself. The bell rang and I gathered up my books. Rushing out the door I walked down the crowded hallway and battled my way to my locker. I opened it and grabbed my bag to leave. **

**Opening the house door with the keys that always jangled on my belt, I dropped my bag on the floor of my room, sighed and sat down. School was a bore every day because I knew everything already. At least I had 4 hours of alone time before my sisters got home from school. I jumped off the bed and ran to the kitchen sink. Turning on the water and smiling at the water running out of the tap, I washed my hands and grabbed an apple out of the refrigerator. I walked out to the back of the house and laid down in the dead grass. 'Everything is so bland here. Nothing ever grows.' I thought looking at the dead tomato plants in our pathetic garden and eating my apple. 'I wish I was a mutant. Then I could go and help the X-men. Then I wouldn't have such a boring life. But then, of course, I would have to leave my family because of everyone who hated mutants who would gladly kill me.' I was a comic enthusiast and my favorites were on the X-men because there were mutants out there. Professor Xavier had a school in Westchester for mutants. Not for me, though. I was just an ordinary person with no special abilities other than being super smart in my class and being a black belt in karate. 'Ah well. At least I got my good looks.' I thought. And then realizing what I had just thought, I laughed. That was so unlike me, I was imitating my best friend, Mallory. She was a complete opposite of myself. She was blonde, I was red. She loved shopping, I loved martial arts. She liked boys, I liked comic books. But opposites attract, I guess, and we completed each other. I was happy. I had friends, good grades, and a wonderful family. But it felt like something was missing, a piece that was supposed to be there, but wasn't.**

**I got up and walked back inside, it was too sad out in my dead backyard. I booted up my slow computer and read some more X-men comics. My eyebrows raised at the new character that entered the X-men's world. His name was Wolverine. Here's my first basic description: a blood thirsty berserker who liked beer, had healing abilities, and had unbreakable claws. That's what I thought at first. Later in the comic you realized he had a sense of honor and that he knew what was right, and what was wrong. I was interested in this new character and searched for any more comics that might give me more info. I found at least 10 series devoted to him. "Wow. Somebody's a little popular." I said, picking the first series. **

**After about an hour later I shut down the computer and walked down to the basement where I trained. Glancing around the familiar space and smiling at the swords and staffs hanging up on the walls, I felt relieved to be in common ground where I knew everything. **

**The doorbell rang about 2 hours later. I grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off my face. "Coming!" I yelled up the stairs, jumping them 4 at a time. I opened the door to see my little sister with two policemen standing on the side of her. "Hello Officers." I said confused. "Is there a problem?" Lily, my sister, ran into the house, suddenly bawling her eyes out. The officers walked in. "Sadly miss, there is a problem. Your younger sister, Ellen, was hit by a car while crossing the street. She is already at the hospital and your parents are there currently. Your father requested that we take you and your sister to the hospital to meet him." said the Officer on the left. I looked up, dazed by this information. "Will she be alright?" I asked weakly. "The paramedics are not completely sure. She took a heavy hit on her head and legs. She will most likely not live." He replied. I stared at him in disbelief and shock at how he could say that to me so easily. "Lily! Come on! We're gonna go see Ellen." I yelled after Lily, who had escaped to her room down the hall. I walked in and found her crying. "Oh, Lily. It'll be okay. Ellen will get better. Let's go with the nice policemen and go meet mommy and daddy at the hospital." "Okay." she said sniffling. We walked out to the police car and got in the back. **

"**What happened Lily? Did someone do it on purpose?" I asked, suddenly hungry for revenge. "A big boy and his friends were driving a car down the street. They were going fast. They didn't see Ellen start to cross the road and kept driving. They ran into her and she flew! She flew up in the air and landed on the bench at the park across the street. Her legs were twisted funny and she had red stuff coming out of her head and mouth. It was so scary." Lily explained. I glared at the floor. "Thanks Lily." I said stiffly. **

**I was angry. Angry at the stupid drunk kids who ran over my 6 year old sister, angry at the school for not watching out for her, angry at alcohol. "Are you all right kid?" the policeman said, breaking my depression. "No." I said menacingly. "Would you be okay if your little sister was killed by drunks?!" "No, I guess not." He answered. I put my head in between my legs and tried starting my breathing exercises. I found that I couldn't concentrate. A headache ripped across my brain like a fire. I suffered in silence, like so many other times when the fire attacked. It got worse. It had gone away all the other times, but now it hurt so much I wanted to die. I was sweating and having trouble breathing. 'Please God. If you can hear me, let my pain go away.' I felt a little tension go off of my head and my headache calmed for a minute. "WHOA!" the policeman yelled. The car in front of us had been thrown up in the air and blasted off to the side of us. I looked up. 'Did I do that? Oh, gosh! Why me?' The fire returned, even more furious then the last. "Stop the car!" I screamed. "Huh, Why?" said the policeman. "I'm-Going-To-HURL!" I screamed again. I was a good excuse as any, I guess. The car stopped and I jumped out of the car. I ran off to the side of the road and puked up my apple. I walked slowly back to the car. "Will you take my sister to the hospital and tell my dad I went to my grandma's to deal with grief?" "Why kid?" "I can't take this right now. Just tell my dad." I hugged Lily. "I'll come back" I whispered in her ear. "Ashwe?" "What?" "Isn't grandma dead?" "Yeah, she is. Shh. It'll be okay." I shut the door and ran back to the side of the road. I stared at the place where I had puked. There were now pinkish tannish flowers growing all over the place. My eyes opened wide and I ran off into the woods. **

**After I had run about 2 miles in the forest I sat in a meadow with my head in between my legs. _"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" _I screamed, relieving myself of the pain the headache posed. I heard a whooshing sound and looked up. Then I wished I hadn't. I saw about a couple miles off that the trees and plants that were around me were dead and shriveled. The trees were on fire and the shrubs were dead. I put a hand on my face and let myself open up the waterworks.**


	3. Information

**Chapter 2**

Information

_**1 Year Later...**_

**I sat in my room at 10:30 pm, thinking about when I would go. To the school that is. It had been a year since I developed my horrible powers and I had been training hard alone, 9 months, for the sake of Ellen. So her death would be justified. I would miss my parents and Lily, but they'd be safer without me. I brought danger on them just by being alive and living here. Well, that's what you get for being a semi-hero, I guess.**

**I felt a man's vibrations a block away. I reached out on the line that connected me to him and smiled. They were coming for me. Putting on my duds, I climbed up on the roof excitedly. I had released a lot of power the day before fighting a large gang group dealing drugs and foresaw that Cerebra had picked up my blip. Cerebra had probably picked up my power surges when I was traveling, but I moved quickly before anyone could come get me. They had probably been tracking me since I burned down the forest a year ago, but couldn't keep up. So they waited until I finally came back home and settled down.**

**'I don't think I'm ready for this' I thought to myself, 'Of course you're ready for this! You've been training for this for most of your life!' 'I know what I want, but I don't think I can do it without hurting someone.' 'You're such a wuss! Do it for Ellen! Make her and grandma proud!' **

**I wanted to duel Wolverine. And I wanted to win. He would probably say no but I didn't give up that easily. Not since Ellen died. Something had changed within me. Like my instincts had taken a form of its own, wild and free to take over my body. It had also affected my physical body. My pupils had gone pointed, almost feline and my hair grew wild and wouldn't be tamed. By a hairdresser or me. It helped when I was in danger though. Pure instinct would come over me and I could react on a dime.**

**I can smell him five houses down. He smells like a animal and beer, which was stronger, I couldn't tell you. I didn't hear him jump on the roof and sit beside me, he was as quiet as a cat, I felt it. "My name's Logan. I'm from Xavier's Institute." he said. "Yeah, you sure smell like it. What'd you do? Run over roadkill a coupla times?" I asked smiling and held my nose over the fabric on my face. He really did smell bad. My instinct woke up and memorized his smell. It paced back and forth under the surface, seeing just a minor threat to its territory. I shifted my posture to fit any fighting needs. He grimaced at my comment and position. "Look, Smartypants. You know why I'm here?" he asked, searching for information. "Yeah, you're here for me." I replied simply. I didn't have to give him information. I could be as greedy as I wanted right now. The world was at my disposal. "So you know what you are? And what we can help you with?" he commented. I felt his instincts see the threat I was showing and it was nervous and aggravated. "Bub, I've known that I was a mutant a year ago and I've had quite a lotta fun already." I remarked, remembering the night before. "Sounds fun. What'd you do?" he asked, suspiciously. "Copula heroics here and there. Can't believe you flew all the way out from Westchester to Utah." I said changing the subject. "Wasn't that long, and I heard that your blip was big enough for notice." he shrugged. While he was swallowing his instincts to fight, I let mine roam around and take control, to find any weaknesses. "That big huh? Wonder why?" I played it cool. I didn't want to give all my powers away. "So do you want to come with me to Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning?" "I do...on one condition." He looked up questionably. The beast inside of him growled a warning and my instincts seemed to laugh at his weak bravado. "I want a duel." I said simply. "You serious?" he asked, confused at the simpleness . "Yep." I answered, determined to get my way. My instincts saw no threat and was not worried by the beast inside Logan, the beast that called itself the Wolverine. "Why?" he asked cautiously. The Wolverine could see my instincts were more powerful and backed down, still watching me warily. I sighed. "Do you know what my mutation is?" I asked. "No. I just know that yer blip was big. Why?" he answered gruffly. He was annoyed at the disadvantage I had set before him, and I was going to use that to show my dominance. So I decided to give him a little information as a gift. "I've had a gift to be able to use my brain pretty darn good and use my body for some serious combat, and that ain't even a half of it. Aren't you curious 'bout what I can do?" said the seemingly innocent exterior. Ha. Like I'm even a little innocent. And I'm only 16! "Yeah, but I bet the Prof is even more anxious than I am." he said, dodging the question. He didn't like how this conversation was going. "Just one duel. Please?" I pleaded, using my age difference as leverage. "No bub, too dangerous." He said, avoiding my pleas. I looked at him. "I can't believe Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine, just said that. You an impostor or clone or something? 'Cause the Wolverine that I've read about don't act like that. Why not?" I persisted. "People are here an' someone could get hurt." he said. I could feel him weakening. His defenses were up, but he was tired of my persistent argument. "Then let's go over to the park a coupla houses down." I tried again. "No." he answered adamantly. I smiled inwardly. I liked this back and forth game. Mostly because I was winning. Putting on my game face I tried a new tactic. Sigh " Tell ya what. I'll make a bet, If you win then I'll give you money to buy a beer. If I win then we duel again later." He looked at me suspiciously. Oops. I let my age slip. I couldn't buy him a beer because I was underage, and why would I want a beer anyways? After contemplating for awhile he said, "Man, you don't take no as a answer do ya?" "Nope." I answered automatically. "After we duel you come to the school?" he said, giving in. "Yep." I said just as quickly. "Okay then, hurry up, it's late." "It's only 11:00." He rolled his eyes. "Come on. You need help getting down?" I glared at him with all my might and wished I wasn't wearing my mask so I could show how I despised that. My instinct growled warningly. "No." I said coldly. He looked at me strangely and shook his head. **


	4. Claws, Metal, and Sarcasm, Oh My!

**Chapter 3**

Claws, Metal, and Sarcasm, Oh My!

"**Who are you anyways? Since you're in the crime fighting biz you have an alias don't ya?" He asked while we walked down the street. "To tell the truth, I seriously haven't thought of a name yet." It was the truth. Since I had won the battle I felt I could share a little information with him now. I was, after all, going to the school. "So you fight criminals in a costume-" "Duds. I call em' my duds." I interrupted. He shook his head at me. "Crazy Utahan. So you're 'duds' and you don't even have a name for yourself?" "Nope. And you're the crazy Canadian so don't even go there." He was silent then, chastened for a moment. "What's your real name then?" he plowed on, almost seeming hungry for information. "You can call me Mack. That's what I am to everyone else." "Mack? Like the semi truck?" he said teasingly. "No. Mack as in me." I growled. 'Although I could probably hit you as hard as a semi truck.' I thought, laughing at the mental picture. We arrived at the park. "Ready?" I asked. "You bet, kid." We stood at opposite sides of the field. Him at the further side and me at the opposite. "Ready, Set, GO!" I called out. He came charging at me and I ran to meet him. I was disappointed when he kept his claws sheathed. He struck a punch at the left but I ducked before he came into contact, sensing his movements with the earth instinct inside me. I knew about his adamantium bones and claws. I knew if he got in a punch he could break something vital. But I also knew he was pulling his punches, I wasn't some untrained dummy who was four years old. "Why're you pulling your punches? 'Fraid I'll get hurt?" I said, right as I flipped over his head and kicked him squarely in the back. "Yep." "Don't be." I stood still as he whirled around to face me. "Cut me." I said fearlessly. "Are you nuts?" "No, just scratch me and I'll show you what I can do." He looked at me for a moment and then popped one of his claws, grazing my arm, tearing the fabric. "Happy now?" "Just look." He stared at the wound and found it was covered in metal. "What happened?" "I covered it with what your claws are made of. Adamantium." "That's your power? Covering stuff with metals?" "No. I wouldn't be much of a blip if I only did that, would I? Try looking behind you." "What?" he looked back and I pulled back my fist. "There's nothing-" I hit him squarely in the jaw and he flew backwards. He looked up confused. "Why didn't your hand break?" "I cover things with metals, remember?" He smiled grimly, jumped up, and popped the rest of his claws. "Ready now?" I felt the Wolverine wake up inside him and challenge me. I laughed at the beast because how could he hurt what had trained him? I was Mother Earth, I was a warrior and a creator. The little Wolverine was no match for my soul. "Bring it on." I said softly and threateningly. The Wolverine's hair stood on end at my dangerous words, but did not back down. An hour later of pulled punches and no luck, Logan finally jumped at me with his claws full on and found the 'little kid' smiling deviously. The Wolverine saw the threat and tried stopped in it's foolish tracks, but that didn't help Logan none. His expression changed from confidence and rage to fear, but that didn't stop his launch. I covered the air in front of me with adamantium at the last possible second and jumped back. THUMM! I winced. That had to hurt. It didn't do too good with my hearing either. "You okay Wolvie?" Groann "Nice moves kid, you beat me for the time being. Lets go." I rolled my eyes and the adamantium disappeared, letting me see a crumpled Logan at my feet. I could feel my heightened instincts growl a final warning to the defeated Wolverine before retreating back into myself. "Great. Do I need to grab anything?" "No, someone'll be back for it." Logan said, and got back up on his feet. His nose was broken and his face looked a little mushed but he quickly set his nose back and the bruises were going away already. "Great, now everyone will know where I live." "You can trust us kid. You mind dropping your mask so I know who beat me?" His hurt ego demanded he saw who had made the damage. "Sure. I don't think you'll be that happy though." I pulled off the mask covering my face and shook my red hair out. "You probably didn't think a 16 year old girl would beat you in a duel huh?" He looked shocked. "Uh, Logan? Maybe I should have left the mask on..." He just stood there, staring at my face and looking at my, already fading, dark green eyes. "Logan? Are you okay?" (While my training of martial arts were helpful, so were my classes of Hungarian, Japanese, Chinese, and many other languages. I am speaking Hungarian here.) He seemed to snap out of it. "What? Huh? Oh, let's get to the Quinjet. It's parked about 5 blocks from here. Hope you like walking." he said, disorientated by my almost familiar face. 'She looks so much like Jean, but she's not her. She has Jean's hair, but that's about it. And her demeanor is different, it carries her up to the top of the food chain and hints that she's a predator. Her eyes...her eyes are just plain scary.' he thought, taking a glance at my now off white irises. Logan shivered involuntary and set his face in a rough facial expression. "Sure I do, but I think it would be better if I just flew you there instead, because of your injuries and all." I said, taking another poke at his ego. "And how're you gonna do that, Ms. Adamantium? And what injuries?" I glared at him and watched his surprised face as he was picked up by a windstorm. I let another one pick me up. "Your hurt ego and damaged brain. Lead the way Wolvie." I said smiling.**


	5. The Professor

**Chapter 4**

**The Professor**

**30 minutes later...**

**I had flown us to the Quinjet and we were already in Idaho.****"So what are your other powers Mack?"**** "Who said I had other powers?" ****"You did. And with the proof of your large blip, you'd have to have better powers than covering things with metal."**** "'Kay, you got me there. I control the elements. Water, Fire-" ****"Earth and Air." ****"Yeah." ****He paused.**** "Didn't think I'd be doing this today."**** "What?" ****"Fighting a 16 year old girl and losing." **** "Get used to it bub." ****I said smiling. He looked back at me and growled.**** "Acting like a 16 year old ain't helping your age, Logan" ****I remarked laughing.**

**Logan was amazed at my ignorance, or stupidity. I saw him as no threat and found his warning signs a joke. He wondered why I was so at ease with his complaints and warnings while I made his hair sick up on end just by uttering a threat. His muscles flexed and his claws shot up smoothly and slowly through his knuckles, making little noise.**

"**So what will I do at the Institute?" ****I continued on, feeling the silence foreboding.****"You'll take lessons with Charles Xavier and with some of the other teachers. They'll help you practice your powers and stuff like that." ****"Cool."**** I remained quiet and felt the confusion that rolled off Logan in waves. The Wolverine was wary but showed that he understood my dominance.****My instincts took little interest in the Wolverine once she had been taken seriously. She owned me and I owned her, if she had to kill someone to protect me, I had no doubt she would.**

**We were flying over New York in another 30 minutes and it was very quiet. ****Hello Ashley, Welcome to New York.****a voice in my head announced. I and my instinct jumped, spooked by the Professors voice. Logan looked at me funny, shook his head and concentrated back on flying. ****Oh, Hi Professor. Have fun reading my mind? ****I answered back calmly, realizing no threat.****No. You should know that I do not enjoy intruding on other mutants thoughts by all the research you did on us, Ashley.****By the way, Professor, It's Mack, not ****Ashley. ****I hadn't let anyone except my family call me Ashley since Ellen died, and I wasn't gonna let them start now. ****Okay then, Mack. A word to the wise, try not to irritate Logan any longer, he's still grumpy about being beat in a fight by a 16 year old girl.****He doesn't act like he's upset. Or is it something I'm not picking up? ****No, Logan is good at hiding his emotions, except the fact that his claws have been out throughout the whole entire trip.**** I glanced at his hands and saw the adamantium blades sticking through his skin. I mentally winced at not noticing.****Oh. That's comforting. I didn't notice... So what do you see in my future?****I think you have the potential to become one of the X-men- ****"YES!"****I shouted, unable to contain my ****joy. Logan jumped at least a foot in the air and almost sliced the steering wheel in two.****"Geez kid, can you be any louder?"****"Sorry Logan." ****I said happily, not caring about anything for a moment.****-With hard training. You are a class 5 mutant and you have already a good grip on your powers, but you're young and inexperienced.****Xavier. I've been in training for this for most of my life. I still ****am****training, just a different kind of training. How can I not have control over my powers by now? ****Having control over that level of power will probably take the rest of your life. I know you are confident and eager, but you need to be shown reality.****Alright. I'll continue training because I can always improve. Thanks for letting me come. My family ****doesn't know about my powers, and I'd like to keep it that way. What will happen once we get to the school?**** Once some tests have been run, Cyclops will give you a tour of the school and will show you your dorm. It is empty at the moment but later you will have a roommate.****Cool. Wait, tests? What kind of tests? ****My instinct growled at the mental images that went through my head, most of them painful and torturous.****Just a couple of vaccines and a checkup. We would also like to test your mutation. None of which will hurt at all. ****He reassured me, picking up my discomfort.**** All your needs will be in the dorm when you get there and you can set up the room however you like it. A schedule will be set on your bed showing your classes ****for the next day.**** I have to start school right away? I thought I just started summer vacation?**** That would be your old school. This is your current institute. Look out the window. ****I looked out the window and gasped. It was HUGE! A mansion was in the center of smaller buildings and a lake and stable was to the outside right. A large field and forest was to the outside left. ****"Wow."**** Logan chuckled. ****"Welcome home. Ms. Adamantium."****"That ain't my name, Shorty. It's Mack."****"You want respect? Try planting it first."****"I thought I already did in Utah." ****I answered snidely. Logan glared ahead and didn't comment, claws going in and out slowly. ****Logan thinks he is the best at what he does, he isn't used to being beat, or giving up. If you ****want him to give you respect, you'd better show him some.**** Xavier commented. ****Didn't you say something about mutants having privacy?**** I shot back. ****I gave you privacy, it's your body language that gave you away.****Great. ****I said sarcastically.**

"**We're here." Logan announced. "Thanks for the ride Wolverine. And for the duel." "No problem." He grunted. I walked down to the landing pad. "Wow. You X-men don't really have a budget do you?" The entire room was made of metal and there were many mechanical machines lying around on the ground. "Nah, Beast just likes playing with his toys in here." I pulled my mask over my face and then sighed. "Guess there's no more secret identities here are there?" "Nope. Not when there are over 200 students here."**

**Just then, Cyclops and Beast walked into the hanger. "Hi I'm Scott Summers, and this is Dr. Hank McCoy. I'm guessing your our new guy." "Yeah, I guess I am." I said coldly. Why did everyone that saw me with my mask on think I was a guy? Logan looked at me, surprised at my hostility and gave me a questioning look. "I'll give you a tour around the school after Hank has finished your tests. Logan?" "Yeah Scooter?" "The Professor would like it if you would get a check up too." Logan raised his eyebrows and then sighed. "Sure. If Chuck really thinks I need it." Logan admitted. He had been up in Canada for a couple of weeks before this mission. "Wait. Uh, Can I go to my dorm first? I want to get settled in first." I said, suddenly nervous about the tests. "Sure, after the testing." Cyclops replied. I groaned inwardly, no trying to escape now. "Follow me." Dr. McCoy said, his voice low and gravelly.**


	6. Testing and the Dorm

**Chapter 5**

**Testing and the Dorm**

**I was sitting on a paper covered table in the Medical Bay with my mask off. Cyclops had been surprised at my appearance and had disappeared to stop the hurt that he felt because of my likeness to Jean. I knew why he went because I could feel it. It resounded in my soul and I could sympathize with him. I was connected to everyone, whether I liked it or not.**

**Dr. McCoy had given me several vaccines and had just finished with the checkup. My instinct growled every once in awhile, but only in annoyance, and mainly stayed calm. Logan sat on the other table and was receiving his checkup. Whenever Logan picked up my instinct's growls the hair on the back of his neck stood up on end and I had to choke back a laugh. "We are done with your vaccines and checkup. For your ability testing I would just like for you to exhibit some of your powers." Hank McCoy said as he worked on Logan. He reached behind him to grab a needle and found that it was in front of him, held up by a small vine in front of his face. His eyes shot up and Logan chuckled. "Do you need anything else?" I asked innocently. "Just for you to keep using your powers." He replied, just a little amused at my trick. I covered myself in metal very slowly, the metal coming up my legs and arms, then I burst into flames. "Gah!" Hank yelled and Logan's eyes went wide with shock. I swallowed down the flames so they were only about an inch off my body and smiled. "Gotcha. Shouldn't you two be used to this by now?" I teased. My instincts chuckled and then tensed, sensing a new presence approaching. Just then, Professor Charles Xavier rolled into the room and looked at me. "Mack, if you would be so kind not to melt the table. It would be greatly appreciated." He said calmly, looking at my metal ablazed form. "Yes Professor." I reduced the flames so only the metal was red hot and I made that leave my body quickly. It wasn't that I was hot or that my clothes were burning, I could take anything you threw at me and make my clothes fire proof. It was that I was burning through the paper I was sitting on and was melting the ground at my feet. The room filled with the stench of scorched paper and metal. I blew the gross smell out of the room and felt ashamed. With the Professor to keep me in line I quickly finished the rest of the test and left with Cyclops for my dorm.**

**We walked down the halls quietly. "What's your name kid?" "My name is Mack." "Well, we're glad to have you at Xavier's. I heard you were a pretty large blip." "I might've been." I said. I could still feel his sorrow at seeing me, which made me feel uncomfortable in conversation. We arrived at a dorm in front of the forest and field. "This is your dorm, 6A. When you're ready for a tour have Xavier call me to your dorm." "'Kay." **

**I walked in the fairly large dome like building and gasped. It was huge! This would be fun to design. I smiled and ran to the bed. All of my suitcases and some school supplies were on the bed. I picked up the white board, unwrapped it from the plastic, and sent a vine to hang it up on the wall. There were magnets on the bed too. I flung them at the white board and the wind picked them up to put on the board. I found the schedule on the pillow and scanned over it briefly. Flying, Martial Arts, Geometry, and Personal Training were a few of the classes. I flew over to the white board and hung up the schedule. I looked around the circular room and smiled. My room back home wasn't nearly this big. 2 large beds sat in the middle of the room and a couch was on the left side of the room. There were also 2 armours of the right wall and a computer desk at the top of the room.**

**Among the supplies that sat on her bed there was also a brand new black laptop labeled 'Ashley Tridian'. I grimaced and swiped my hand over the letters. It now read 'Mack'. I had manipulated the metal into smoothing over. I walked over to the desk and laid the laptop on it. "Now it's time for the decorating!" I thrust my hands towards the wall and watched as thin light and dark green vines grew over the walls. "Perfect." I packed my clothes into the armour by my bed and organized the other things that were left over.**

**Professor Xavier? Yes Mack? Would you tell Cyclops that I'm ready for a tour? Yes. He is on his way to your dorm. You can change into something more comfortable than your costume. This is your new home after all. Thanks Professor. For everything. No problem, Mack. I'll look forward to teaching you in Personal Training. You teach that class? Yes. Since there is no other mutant with your power than I will be teaching you. Coolio. A knock sounded on the door. "Just a minute!" I called out. I hurried and changed into a red t-shirt and jeans. "Come in!" I yelled, while pulling a blue bandanna through my red hair. Cyclops walked into the room. "Whoa. How'd you do that to the walls?" "Talent." I replied.**


	7. Cyclops and Joseph

**Chapter 6**

**Cyclops and Joseph**

"**Why weren't there any other mutants when I first got here?" I asked while we exited the dorm. "They were most likely in their classes. The sports field is to your left. It will be open until curfew, which is 10:00." I grimaced. No more late night outings to train here. We walked into the school. "The science classroom is to your left and to your right is the U.S. History class. There are more classes straight ahead." We came into a crossroads in the hall. "The hallway on you right leads to the cafeteria, the left leads to more classes and the Professor's office and straight ahead leads outside to the Flying class and the stairs that take you down to the aircraft hanger and Danger Room. Got it?" "Uh...sure." "Great. Feel free to explore but stay away from the Danger Room. It's off limits to students without a teacher's presence." "'Kay. Thanks Cyclops." "My pleasure." I watched Cyclops walk off and looked around at the halls. **

"**Well...outside sounds good. I feel like a good breeze." I walked straight ahead and pushed open the glass doors. I smiled at the green grass and it seemed to get greener. "Look what we got here. A newbie to the school!" A black haired guy shouted to his buddies straight to my right. He walked over to me. My instincts tensed and then, realizing him as no threat, went back to sleep. "Hi. My name's Joseph. My buddies over there are Lia, Robert, and Jay." He introduced and pointed out his friends. "Hey. My name's Mack." "Are you western or something? You've got an accent." "I'm from Utah." "Wow. That's quite away from here." "Yep." "So what do you do?" "What?" "What's your power?" "Oh. I can cover things with metal." I said. I didn't want to share all my abilities to some guy I just met. "That's it?" I nodded. "Show us." By then his groupie had walked over, wondering why their leader was talking to this new girl. I covered my bare arms in adamantium. "Huh. Cool." "Thanks." I wiggled my fingers and the adamantium disappeared. "You want to hang out with us? Classes just ended." "Nah. Some other time though. Can you show me where Logan teaches?" "That old bum?" Joseph scoffed. "He teaches martial arts and defense classes down by the cafeteria, the first door on the left when you come down the hall." "Thanks Joseph. See ya around." "I'd better!" He called as I walked back to the building. I just shook my head.**

**I came to the door by the cafeteria and opened it up to see the perfect area for martial arts. Pads were on the ground, buckets with padded armor were on the right, and there were daggers, staves, and swords lined up on the left wall. The only thing that was missing was Wolverine. It was quiet and no one was in the room except for me. Walking in and taking off my shoes, I sat in the center on the mats and started my breathing excercies, just like normal back home. Breathing excercies always helped me to concentrate, and kept me from having headaches, which hadn't shown up since last year, thankfully. Headaches had always been a problem with me, even before I developed my powers. They would happen out of the blue, and I would be affected for hours even after it had gone away. Of course it had gotten worse when I gained my powers, because that meant I wasn't in control and could blow at any second. Literally.**


	8. More Surprises

**Chapter 7**

**More Surprises**

"**Well look who decided to drop in." I opened my eyes at the familiar gruff voice. "Hey Mr. Logan. You need to work on your sneaking skills. I can feel your vibrations a block away." I smiled. "Thanks for lowering my self esteem there Mack. Does it kill you not to beat up on me?" "You have a healing factor, I would think you could take it. I'm just giving tips. Didn't know you taught martial arts. How long have you been training?" "I don't know. Apparently I was an assasin. You look like you've had some training yourself." "Only 12 years of my life." "Wow. You started that young?" "I told you back in Utah that I could do serious damage with my body." "Yeah but I didn't take it seriously." "I can tell." I closed my eyes and continued my breathing exercises. After a minute of silence Logan said, "You are one mysterious person Mack." I cocked my head to the side. "Why?" "Well first of all, ya have 2 extra powers that ya don't tell anyone about, ya have trained in martial arts and yer practically a master, and yer not even all the way American." "How could you tell?" I whispered. "Tell what?" "That I'm half Canadian." He looked surprised for a second and then recovered quickly. "Well, not everyone in America learns Hungarian every day. How long did you have to be in Canada to learn the language?" "Ha. I was there for 3 months when I was 15. It helped that my mom was Canadian and already an expert." "Oh." I smiled and continued breathing. I didn't tell him that I had been traveling across the whole country alone. Once I had gained my powers I traveled across the whole continent for 9 months, training and exploring my seemingly unlimited powers. "So how good are you with swords Mr. Logan?" "Good enough I guess, since I do teach this class." "Wanna prove it?" I opened opened one eye and smiled. "How can I say no to a bet I already made?" I snapped both eyes open. "If you keep pushin' it, then you'll find out that you really don't like me when you're on my bad side." I mumbled under my breath. "What?" I knew he had heard me but might as well fake it. "Nothing." I stood up and walked over to the wall with the swords. I grabbed a sword on the right and Logan smiled. "You are good." "How can you tell?" I asked. "That sword is long enough where you won't get stabbed fighting and it's light enough for easy movement. And the fact that that's the sword that I always choose." "Interesting." I said sarcastically. He walked over to the wall and choose a black sword on the left. "Ready?" I asked. "Yep." **

**I stood in the middle of the training pads and we both bowed. He suddenly struck to the left. I met him about 2 inches from my arm. He swiped the sword at my feet and I jumped for the ceiling. Coming back down I whacked him on the back of the head. He staggerd forwards and I cut at his middle. He didn't make any move to stop me. I cut clean about an inch in his side and pulled out. A snarl escaped his lips and I backed up. My eyes widened as he swung around and hit my with the sword on my neck. It didn't go through. I had covered myself from head to toe with adamantium from when I heard him snarl. He glared at me. "Nice kid. Now you look just like Colossus." "I prefer to be my own person, thank you." I replied frostily. I blinked and the adamantium melted away. "How 'bout now? Soft enough for you to kill me? If you really want to that is." My instinct scoffed at the thought of him killing me, but I was on red alert. "I don't want to kill you kid. You hit a nerve." "I obviously hit more than that." I said looking pointedly at his blood drenched side. "And my name isn't kid. It's Mack." "Point taken." He replied and swung his sword so fast I could hardly think. I ducked but the tip of the sword grazed the side of my face and I felt blood spurt out of the wound. I stood stock still and looked blankly ahead. My instincts roared and almost overtook me, but I held it back by a thread. I wanted Logan to see what he had done. He looked bewildered at my face and then at his hands. He looked up again. "Let's go get you cleaned up." he said finally. "What about you?" "I'm fine." "Really?" I asked. He looked down at his side and found his skin trying to heal over metal. "What'd you do that for?" "Seeing if your skin would dissipate my metal. Which it obviously didn't do." I shrugged and the metal disappeared. I touched my face. The blood was running down my cheek onto the ground. "Guess I need more training huh?" I smiled. And then winced. The pain hit me like a fire that was consuming my body. I groaned. "Come on kid I'll get you to the medical bay." "Hold on. Just watch." I replied, falling to my knees and gasping for breath. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe slowly. I could feel the enriched air around me attack my cut and felt it closing the cut skin and veins, and seeping the blood on my face back into my pores. "Whoa. What other surprises do you have in store for me today?" "I don't know. What are we doing today?" "Well for starters we are takin' you to Charles." "For me to show off my skills?" "Yep." "Joy." I grimaced. "Wait. Could I do it in the Danger Room?" "I don't know yet Mack. Just wait and see." Logan opened the door and waved me through. **


	9. Meeting the Gang

**Chapter 8**

**Meeting the Gang**

"**Hey Cyke. How're you?" Logan said to Cyclops who ran up to us with a stern look on his face. "Not good Logan. Xavier is really angry at the two of you. More so on you Logan. You injured a student on purpose. The Prof wants to see you both right now." "Good. We were just headin' up there anyways." Logan replied. "Follow me, Xavier is down by the Danger Room." "Yes!" I murmured quietly. We followed Cyclops to a conference room down by the Danger Room. Cyclops opened the door and ushered us in. My eyes opened in astonishment. Everyone was here. Beast, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Rogue, Angel, Emma Frost, Kitty Pryde and the rest. Everyone turned to look at me. I guess Xavier had gathered everyone from their missions to talk. About me. Scary. "Welcome Ashley. Logan. Now that everyone is here we can discuss this pressing matter." Charles said. I took a seat next to Logan. "Wait. Why is she here? She's not one of the X-men." called out Rogue. "Ashley," I gave a dirty look at Xavier. "Excuse me, Mack is here because it's about her. And it's possible she might be part of the X-men someday. Back to business. Mack here is an elementalist. She can control and manipulate Fire, Water, Air, and more so, Earth. I have looked into her powers and found reason to believe that, since she can control earth, that she can control what earth has made." "That's preposterous! That would mean she would have control over the inhabitants and everything on this planet!" opposed Beast. "She would almost be as powerful as the Phoenix..." whispered Kitty. "Yes. I believe Mack here could virtually do anything she wanted to do if she thought of it." said the Professor. I looked around awestruck. I knew I was powerful, but not this powerful. I felt all of their gazes on me and I put my head down, my instincts growling at the threats they posed. "She almost looks like-" started Storm. "Don't! Not now." interrupted Cyclops suddenly. "I agree. We don't need to relive that." said Wolverine uncomfortably. What do they mean Professor? I don't understand...Relive what? I asked, completely confused. They are talking about when Jean Grey died. To Scott and Logan you look almost remarkably like her. 'Great. I look like a dead person to Wolverine and Cyclops. How luckier could I get?' I thought sadly. Why do I only look like Jean to them? I asked confused. You almost look like Jean to everyone, Mack. To them it is more personal. They both loved her and Scott was married to her. The professor replied. Oh. What do you mean by looking 'almost' remarkably like her? By their thoughts you seem more free, wild- Wait. Wild? How do I seem 'wild'? You have the Mother Earth inside of you. You have connection to all the things she has made. You feel what they feel and you understand. You see intelligence when no one else does. You see their ups and downs. That makes you wild and uncertain to them. Oh. You were gonna say something else. What were you gonna say? He mentally sighed. You seem more dangerous to them. I was silent. I put my hand under my chin and slouched on the table. How was I supposed to respond to that? I looked up to see everyone scrutinizing me, trying to figure out who I was and why I was here. The hair on my arms rose as the stares bore a hole through me. 'I feel what they feel... It doesn't feel that way right now.' I thought sarcastically. Uh...Professor? Yes? Can we continue on with the discussion? I'm gettin' fried where I stand. Yes, of course. Xavier cleared his throught. "She will need hard disciplinary training, for her control with her powers are limited and uncontroled. Her normal classes will be pushed aside for the time being." I smiled. I loved working with my powers, not especially with normal things. "For the rest of our discussion Mack will need to leave." Then addressing me the Professor said with a smile on his face, "You can go up to your dorm. There's a surprise waiting for you." I got up and closed the distance between me and the door fairly quickly, the eyes of too many people on me felt like fire burning across my back. 'Not that I'm not used to fire...' I thought happily, thinking of the time in the Medical Bay. I closed the door behind me and walked back to the dorm.**

**Back in the conference room...**

"**What kind of unlimited powers does she posses?" Beast asked. "Mack can basically call upon anything and control it. She also has a minor telepathic link to everything." "How does that work? Is she able to read our minds?" Warren asked, confused. "No. She is nowhere near that kind of telepathic ability. She merely can feel what others feel, and she can sympathize. With animals she can see memories and intelligence. But with humans, she can only see feelings." "What about Hank an' I?" said Logan. "We're closer to being animal than human." Hank responded by grumbling. "I think she had an easier time reading Hank than you Logan. Although I think she might see a lot more from the Wolverine compared to you. If you lost control over yourself and let the Wolverine out, she could probably be overrun by your memories." Logan raised his eyebrows at the thought of letting the beast inside of him out and the danger it posed. "So what do you want us to do?" Rogue asked. "I need all of you to spend time with her. Make her feel happy, get to know her. And tell me if she ever gets a headache." Xavier replied. "What would be so bad about a headache?" Nightcrawler asked. The Professor had a stern look on his face. "The last time she had a headache, she destroyed a forest close to the size of Maryland." Xavier answered seriously. Everyone's eyebrows went up and Xavier saw more than enough shocked faces. "She is a good kid. She is very smart for her age." Xavier justified. "She taught herself how to control her powers. She just needs a push in the right direction to show her what she can do." "Not to mention she kicked my butt in a fight." Logan said. Everyone looked at Logan, confused that he had spoken so out of character. Not to mention, jab at his own reputation. "Ah yes. The 'duel' you had back in Utah. And the one in your classroom. I'll have to ask you to stay after the meeting Logan. We must have a talk." the Professor stated. Logan sighed. He was always gettin' into trouble and had already had lots of talks with Xavier. **

**The first one he had when he got back was the worst. He had just gotten back from a camping trip up in Canada to find that Charles wanted to see him right away. "Hey Charlie. What's this about?" He asked tiredly. "Logan. I have a recovery operation for you. It's about a mutant." "Ah. You want me ta go grab you a kid for the school." "Yes. Except this 'kid' might be dangerous. He or she has very strong abilities. That's why i'm sending you." "Cause I can't get hurt that easily." "Yes. Here is the mission folder. It should give you the child's scent and their information. Good luck Logan." "Thanks Charlie." Logan walked to the door and opened it. "And Logan?" Xavier called. "Yeah Prof?" he replied. "Welcome back." Xavier said smiling. Logan grimly smiled back and left to pack his stuff in the jet.**

**The jet was on auto-pilot to Utah. He had packed the jet in record time and was now reading the mutant kids file. "Hmm. 16 years old, powers at high, and has high grades. Must be tough. Poor kid." Logan finally came to the last page. "Ah ha! Just what I need to find the kid." He exclaimed. He opened the scent bottle and sniffed. "Argh!" he shouted. His senses were on high alert. The kid smelled like all of nature at once, rushing in on his senses and tearing at his brain like some wild animal of fire. The kid didn't smell like smoke, no, he or she smelled like the fire itself, burning its way to Logan's memory. The beast inside Logan woke up and growled at the scent, seeing it as a threat. It saw that the scent was part of nature itself and was wary of it's overpowering presence. Logan winced and closed the container. "Can't wait to find this kid." He said sarcastically. He closed the file and put it on a seat. He closed his eyes and waited for the long flight to end.**


	10. Logan's Talk

**Chapter 9**

**Logan's Talk**

**Logan snapped out of his memory and was back in the conference room. He looked around and saw questions flit across everyone's faces. Even he had a couple of questions about Mack. "I was wondering... what's wrong with her eyes?" Bobby remarked. He had noticed that the very time she had come into the plane hangar. Her eyes still had a pupil, an almost feline pupil at that, but her iris was so light that it looked off white, contrasting very little between the completely white sclera. "Mack had a very bad case of being nearsighted, but that is not why her eyes are that way.When she uses her powers they change color depending on what element she is using. Bright red for Fire, grey for Air, blue for Water, and a dark green for Earth." Xavier answered. "Ah. That explains why the iris looks so mixed. When she doesn't use her powers they are diluted." Beast murmured, lost in his scientific thoughts. "If she has such bad eyesight than why can she see so well and how can she fight properly?" asked Rogue. "I believe she used her powers when she first got them to manipulate her eyesight into being clearer than a hawk's. She could have changed the iris, but she felt no need to. Her pupil, I believe from what she told me, turned that way when her instincts grew into something more solid, like Logan and Wolverine. Except with Mack, she and the 'beast' share consciousness. They co-operate, compromise." answered the Professor. "How could she do that? Change her eyesight, that is?" Warren remarked to himself. "As I said. Mack is very powerful. Not to mention intelligent. She will eventually gain complete control over her powers, and the possibilities are endless." Xavier sighed and rubbed his temples. "Find out about her and be open with her also. She could prove a very useful friend, and is willing to be your teammate in the X-men. For now she will learn, but later she can become a strong ally. This meeting is over. Have a good day." Xavier ended. Everyone left, except Logan. "Logan, please sit down." Xavier gestured to a seat beside him. Logan sighed again and sat in the chair next to the professor. "I'm sorry 'bout what I did Charles." Logan began. "You didn't feel that way while doing it Logan. But I actually am glad that you practiced with Mack. I am disappointed that you allowed yourself to cut her, even though she healed herself." "I know, I lost myself. It won't happen again." "I'm glad it won't Logan. But I think it would be good for her to train with you. Ororo, Piotr, and many others will be training her, but you will spend the better part of the day with her. She understands you and knows many techniques that you do. Who knows, she might even teach you something." Xavier explained. He started for the door. "Wait just a minute Charlie. What am I supposed to teach the girl? She know just as much as I do!" Logan called out. "Give her ideas, let her know about yourself. Teach her to use her claws." Xavier answered back, his voice getting softer as he exited the room. "Wait...her CLAWS?!" Logan shouted down the hall, running out into the hallway. Xavier chuckled in Logan's brain. You'll soon find out you aren't the only one with claws and a temper. Xavier commented. Logan stood dumbfounded in the hallway until he could push away the shock and walk to his bedroom.**


	11. Roommates

**Chapter 10**

**Roomates**

**When I had left the conference room I walked back to my dorm, intrigued by Xavier's hint that I might find something there. When I arrived I found a person sitting on the other bed unpacking her suitcase. "Who're you?" I asked. "I'm your roommate, Deatona. And you're Ashley 'Mack' Tridian." she answered lightly. "How do you know who I am?" I asked suspiciously. "I'm telepathic. I can read minds and stuff. And I can change things to different colors." "Prove it." I said smiling. There was an air about her that made you like her. "Okay. You got your elementalist powers a year ago, You were nearsighted, You are Mormon so you don't swear or drink, and you have a huge crush on-" "Okay, okay. I believe you." I said laughing as the whole room turned red. "I like your laugh." Deatona remarked, making the room turn back. "I think we'll be good friends." "Yeah, I guess so. You already know everything about me, so what about you?" "Uh, I have black hair, green eyes, and am 5' 6'. What else is there to tell?" she said teasing me. Acting as if we were best friends already. And I guess we were from the moment I walked in the room. "Ha ha, very funny. I'll get information out of you sometime or later." I threatened. "Yeah right. Love what you've done with the walls by the way. They look fabulous. Although I prefer city to country." "And I'm the exact opposite." I opposed. "I know that." she said smiling. "Hey." she said "How do you feel about a physic link? So we can mind speak to each other anywhere?" "Sounds cool. What do you need me to do?" "Just stand there and let me come in." she replied, closing her large green eyes and concentrating. I felt her rummaging in my mind, adjusting something here and there. Suddenly I could hear her in my head. Hi! How did you like my record time connecting? She asked. It felt a little funny. I admitted. It's always like that. So once i'm done packing do you want to go do something? Like go peek on your crush? Nah, do you wanna go hang out with Logan? She laughed. Same thing. Is not! He's a friend, kinda. I replied, thinking of the duel in the martial arts room. Okay. I can't wait to see him with my own eyes. You were looking through my memories? I asked accusingly. Only your school ones. Nice slicin' and dicin' Logan's waist. You got some pretty nice moves. she commented. Thanks. Been trainin' my whole life. Except 4 years. Deatona teased as we left the dorm. Do you think you could give me a little privacy? Or at least stop telling me? It kinda gives me nothing to tell you about. I pouted. All right. If you insist. she said sadly. We arrived at the doors to the school.**

**So what classes do you have?**** I asked. ****Normal ones. U.S. History, Math, Science, Telepathy, and ****Martial Arts. I'm not so excited about Martial Arts though. Never liked fighting that much and i'm not that fit.**** Maybe I can help you with that.**** I replied with eagerness. We turned down the hallway to the Martial Arts room. ****Oh?**** Deatona asked innocently. I gave her an evil look and opened the door, ready to spar with Deatona and win.**


	12. Camping with Mutants

**Chapter 11**

**Camping With Mutants**

**After about an hour of sparring with Deatona and winning every time, I felt very happy with myself and took a much needed shower. After I got dressed up in jeans and a green and red flannel shirt, I searched for one of the teachers to ask them a question. I searched the Martial Arts room and found no one there. I looked through the kitchen but it was empty also. Grabbing a soda and stool and relaxing, I let all of the excitement leave and let control take it's place. I searched the mansion for the vibrations I had come to know and felt them up in the higher levels of the building, where the ****teachers and X-men lived. I hesitated. ****'Should I really intrude on their living space? Ah, heck. Why not?'**** I finished my soda and threw it in the garbage can, starting to search the hallways for any type of stairs.**

**I found some down the hallway and followed them up, trusting my instincts. I came to a door and knocked, feeling the vibrations that Logan made as he made his way to the door. ****"What? Oh, hi Mack."**** Logan answered. ****"What do you want?****"I was just wondering where I could find a sleeping bag in this very large mansion. I can't seem to find anything like that here."**** I said. ****"Oh. We have some over in the danger room. But I got one right here. Come on in."**** He replied. He held the door open and slunk back into his room to go ****grab a sleeping bag. **

**I walked into the fairly messy room with no surprise. I felt the weight of everything in the room and could probably identify anything in that room with my eyes closed. I watched Logan look around for the sleeping bag. ****"It over in the closet, on the top shelf."**** I helped. He looked at me and opened the closet door. Surprised when he found it right where I had explained. ****"How did you know?"**** he asked while grabbing it down. ****"I felt it."**** I replied truthfully. ****"Instincts?"**** He asked, very intrigued. ****"Partly. I feel it there and I feel it's weight too. I could also tell you that you have your shampoo at the bottom of the tub and it's empty."****"What?!"**** Logan ran into his bathroom. I ****chuckled happily and left to go downstairs. Logan ran out in the hallway. ****"Wait! What do you need it for?"**** He asked pointing at the sleeping bag. ****"I'm goin' campin' tonight."**** I replied. He looked confused. I laughed. ****"Good night Logan."**** I called walking down the stairs to go outside.**

**After I had set up my sleeping bag inside the woods I sat on it peacefully, thinking about all the new things that had happened to me this whole day. I sat there for an hour, contemplating my thoughts until I felt a presence coming in from my right. The air felt sucked in and then out as a presence filled the space. Bamf I smelled the ash and enjoyed the fiery smell. I had never been bothered by smoke, or ash. It just ****reminded me of the fire in my powers. I kept my eyes closed while saying, ****"Hi Nightcrawler. Welcome ta my campsite."****"Guten abend. Sorry about the smoke."**** said Kurt, sitting down on the other side on my sleeping bag. I laughed at his apology. ****"Sorry about the smoke? I think it smells wonderful." ****He looked at me like I was strange. As if ****he**** wasn't strange. And he was the one with blue fur and a tail. ****"Wouldn't it bother you? Wolverine can not stomach ze smell, says it's too strong for his nose."****"I'm not Wolverine."**** I said witheringly, making the grass around us turn brown slightly. Kurt looked at me surprised. ****"Although I have heightened senses like him, I am not bothered by smoke or ash. I smells like me and reminds me of the ****fire within my soul. I'm not a beer drinking pansy like him."**** I said, turning the end of my statement to a insult. Kurt laughed. ****"Don't let him hear that. Why are you sleeping out here when you could be in a warm bed inside?"**** he asked confused by my makeshift bed. ****"After I got my powers I felt trapped in the walls of my own home. I didn't have a need for the protection of the walls because the whole earth was my room. I don't like being in a room within a room. It makes me feel trapped."****"I understand. Logan sent me to check up on you. He was worried about you when you said you were going camping."****"Yeah. I could tell by the anxiety comin' off of him."**** I said. ****"What?" ****he asked again, confused at my diluted explanation. ****"Instincts. The ****instincts I learned from the animals."**** Kurt still look confused. I smiled. ****"When I first got my powers I was afraid to be around anybody. I was afraid I would kill them like I killed the plants. The animals took care of me and I understood what they were and what they meant."****"How long were you away from home?"**** I opened my eyes and looked off in the direction of the school. ****"I didn't see or visit my family for 9 months." ****I said solemnly, remembering my hard and long journey. Kurt nodded and was silent. The silence continued between us and I felt my instinct grow restless. Kurt looked at me and seemed to be confused once more. ****"Why didn't you change your eyes? You know, when you changed your sight. Why didn't you change them to ****normal?"**** I smiled at his question and looked at his yellow eyes. ****"Never felt the need to. I needed sight, but why do I need to change how I look? And who gets to decide if i'm 'normal' or not?" ****I thought for a moment,**** "There is no 'normal', because everyone is different. Humans and mutants alike. I won't let anyone put me in a stereotype because I look different to them. I don't care what they think of me because their views are not important."**** Kurt was quiet again. I heard a snap in the trees and Kurt winced. ****"I forgot to tell Wolverine that you were okay. He'll cut my tail off when he gets here!"****"Not if I can help it."**** I replied, my eyes turning a deep green. **


	13. Whip Whap Pattywhack

**Chapter 12**

**Whip Whap Pattywack**

**I saw Logan through the trees, watching our moves and pinpointing our locations to attack. He had let the Wolverine get the better of him by his worry and now he was angry at Kurt. My instincts snickered at Wolverine's face when he found himself being lifted off the ground by adamantium covered vines and unable to move. I brought him closer to the sleeping bag. ****"Oh. Hello Logan. Didn't think you'd be camping out here too. Come sit over here and join us."**** Patting on the sleeping bag, I brought Wolverine over. He growled threateningly at me and popped his claws. Kurt ****teleported some feet away from where I was sitting. I growled back and noticed his hair stand on end. Seeing something break inside of him and then Wolverine retreating back into Logan made me let him go and plop him down on the sleeping bag. I had felt Wolverine admit my dominance and allow Logan to take it's place. ****"Let me go!"**** Logan protested as he saw several vines start wrapping themselves around his body. ****"Do you promise not to cut Kurt's tail off?"**** I asked, pleased with his reaction. ****"Yeah." ****he uttered in defeat. ****"And not to go running off when I release you?"**** I persisted. Logan grunted in distaste but admitted deafeat. ****"Okay."**** I relented, the vines dissipating. ****"You can come back now Kurt."**** Bamf Kurt appeared next to me on ****the sleeping bag, on the opposite side of Logan. Logan looked disdainfully at Kurt as he plugged his nose at the brimstone smell. ****"Thank you Mack. I owe you my life."****"It was nothing." ****I answered, smiling largely at Logan's angry face.**** "So..." ****I said, turning to Logan. ****"Why have you come to us on this wonderful night?"****"Just wanted to see if you were okay."**** He mumbled. ****"No. I already know that. There's something else you want to ask." ****I could feel anxiety and wonder coming off of him in waves and the line that we shared was tense. He shrugged. ****"Xavier told me something after the meeting. He told me you had..." ****he paused. ****"What?"****"Claws."**** I laughed at his discomfort. ****"Of course I do!"**** I covered my arms in adamantium and sent off claws on my ****knuckles. ****"I could have spikes coming off my whole entire body if I wanted to." ****With that said, I covered my whole body with adamantium. Spikes slipped off from the metal base and twirled around like water, shooting here and there like birds. Logan looked relieved. ****"I thought-" ****"Thought he meant like yours? Metal grafted on your bone claws? Nope. Didn't Professor Xavier tell you I could do anything?" ****I interrupted. I blinked and caused the metal to leave, except on my hands. I shaped them to look like Wolverine's gloves and shot claws out of them. ****"You aren't the only one with claws now Logan." ****stated Kurt, looking astonished at my metal covered hands. ****"So I've been told."**** Logan grumbled back. Even Kurt could see ****that Logan was a little disgruntled by my abilities.**

"**So. Um... Are you guys gonna sleep out here too? Cause I only have one sleeping bag..." I said after the awkward silence, trying to break up the gloomy mood Logan had caused. "Oh. No, I vas just about to head back. Good night Mack." Kurt stated. "G Night Kurt." I replied. Bamf **

**I snuck a peek at the look on Logan's face at the sudden burst of smoke. His face was set in an angry expression. I couldn't help it, I had to laugh. "What?" Logan asked. "Nothing. I just don't get why you don't like the smell." "It burns my nose. Kinda like you." I raised an eyebrow. "You think I smell bad?" I asked with an underlying growl beneath the words. "No. It just burns my nose." "I have almost the exact senses, Logan. I don't think I smell bad." "You don' smell bad. It just attacks my senses, like fire." "That's why you don't like being around me for a long time." I rationalized. "It's not that I don't like you, kid, it's that you shut my senses down. It's like having a really bad cold where you don' want ta breathe because it hurts too much." "Then this would help you?" I said, sending a gust of wind against me to blow away my scent. "Yeah." He said sighing, suddenly relaxed. We sat in silence for awhile. "So what do I smell like? To you that is." He paused at my question. "You smell like fire. Not smoke, real fire. And trees an' stuff." "And stuff?" I asked, laughing inside at this conversation. "Yeah. Stuff like nature. Like yer part of nature itself." "Well, I did spend 9 months traveling across the North and South American continents. And not to mention that I control earth, fire, water, and air." He raised his eyebrows. "9 months? On yer own?" "Yup." was my simple answer. I really didn't feel like reliving my journey with Logan at the moment. Maybe, when I trusted him more, I would tell him about it. I also had a journal that I had kept on my trip. **

**When I had gotten back I thought about burning it, but what was the fun in that? I just kept it with me at all times, to remind me of keeping control. Right now, it was stuffed in the shoulder bag I had made out of grass around my shoulder. It was a small journal, about 5 inches tall, but it was 10 inches thick. I had written everything in that book, ranging from where and what I was eating to what I had learned to do with my powers that day. It had been, and still was, my lifeline. My lifeline to keeping my sanity and kept me learning so I could protect my family. My family was larger now. The X-men and the school were part of my family now. Even though it was my first day, I felt a connection with the place and everyone in it. I know I have a connection with everything, but this...this feels like a second home.**


	14. Theives in the Night

**Chapter 13**

**Theives in the Night**

**I could feel how uncomfortable Logan was, it was practically rolling off his body in waves. "Go to bed Logan." I said tiredly. He shook his head. "Do you want me to force you?" He grimaced and walked back to the mansion. I slipped in my sleeping bag and fell asleep, dreaming of what would come tomorrow.**

**At four in the morning I, and my instincts, woke up to a crash in the forest. Opening my eyes slightly and searching the surrounding area, I found what the source of the sound was. His connection with me was taunt with fear at being caught and his weight was heavier than it normally was. I flicked my wrist and a branch tightened around the chipmunk's waist. He let out a squeal of terror as I got out of the sleeping bag and stepped up to meet him. In his mouth was my journal and he looked very guilty. I gave him a disapproving look and held out my hand. He dropped the very heavy diary in my hand and pleaded to let him go. I relented at his cute, furry face and the branches snapped back in their normal positions. My instinct wanted to chase after the poor thing and rip it to shreds but I held it back with a thread of reason. 'What good would that do? It didn't do anything harmful.' 'It stole our book, the stupid, furry rodent. We should punish it.' 'We don't know why he stole it.' 'But he's a thief!' 'No...He's a chipmunk.' 'Fine. Next time though?' 'No!' 'Hmph.' **

**I flew back down to my sleeping bag and packed up the large lumpy thing. It smelled faintly of feathers and Wolverine. 'Probably used it before me.' I rationalized. 'Probably?! It smells like he wore it everyday for a year!' 'Ha. Like he would be able to see out of the top standing up!' 'Ha ha ha. Good one.' 'Thank you.' 'Don't mention it.' These conversations with my instinct were common. I mean, she was a part of me. We were good friends but she knew I was dominant and she respected my authority. Occasionally I let her take control, but if she got out of hand I would rise back to the surface. **

**She had risen when I was in British Columbia. I had been hunting a rabbit after I had run out of food and she suddenly started shouting, 'No! The left, the left! Run! Go go go! I'm hungry, so RUN!' So I followed her directions. During the first few days she faded in and out, but later she had became permanent, and harder to keep under the surface. She kept challenging me and rising to the surface, but I had shown her my power and she had backed down. She knew everything I knew and she felt everything I felt. She gave me advice and company. I returned the favor by letting her loose in fights, but she knew my rules. She also knew how to use my powers, which made her even more dangerous than she already was.**

**While we were walking back to the mansion I struck up another conversation, 'You know, I was thinking about something this morning...' 'Really? You actually think?' 'Stop teasing. Anyways, you know how Logan calls his instinct Wolverine?' 'Yes...' 'Well, i'm kinda tired calling you my instinct.' 'So you want to give me a name.' '...Yeah. That okay?' 'I guess. But I get the final say on the name.' 'Sure. This will make it so much easier on us.' 'Us? I never call you anything.' 'Okay. Easier on me then.' 'Thank you.' 'I need you thinking too, though. It's kind of hard.' 'Well duh. You're trying to name your instinct.' I paused. 'What form are you?' 'What?' 'Like, what are you?' 'Oh. Like an animal?' 'Yeah.' After a couple of minutes she finally answered,'Well, I'm a _Uncia uncia_,a Snow Leopard.' My eyebrows raised slightly, 'Okay...' 'What?' 'I don't know, I would think you would be something more...' 'What?' came the dangerous voice. 'More ferocious. More bloodthirsty.' 'Oh. Just because I always want to kill things huh?' 'Yep.' 'Ah well. You are what you eat.' 'That's not funny.' 'I thought it was.' 'Whatever, you bloodthirsty leopard. And for the record, I have never eaten a Snow Leopard.' She snickered for awhile and then fell back asleep.**

**We arrived at the mansion at 5 o' clock. 'Guess I trekked a little farther than I meant to.' I thought to myself, trying not to wake up my instinct. 'I really need to make up a name for her...Shiloh? No, too human. Deseret? No, too Utah. Hmm... I'll get a couple sooner or later.' I smiled to myself and walked up to the door. 'If I go through Logan's door he'll see me and I'll wake him up. I'll just step up through the window and drop the sleeping bag off.' I ran around to the side of the building where the x-men's quarters were and stepped up to Logan's window. 'I can't let him find me in his room. I wonder...' I thrust my hands in front of the window and it opened soundlessly. Walking in and opening his closet silently, I felt the Wolverine wake up at my smell and in about 5 seconds he was going to wake up Logan too. I set the sleeping bag where it had been before and ran out of the room in time to see Logan's eyes open slightly and search the room for anyone. He sniffed and jerked out of bed, clutching his nose as if in pain and run into the bathroom. 'Oops. I shoulda cleared my scent out first...' I sent in the wind to pick up any trace of me and bring it out in front of the window. I closed the window tightly and ran off as fast as I could to my dorm. That had been a little too creepy and dangerous for my taste of adventure. But I had gotten my thrill of the day and I knew some names for my instinct.**

**When I got back to the dorm I sat down at my desk at wrote down all the names I had come up with. Here's what I wrote on the computer screen:**

**Names:**

**Ounce**

**Shiya**

**Pyry**

**Neva**

**Neiva**

**Kaneq**

**Hiko**

**Eryi**

**Eira**

**Chilam**

**Anniu**

**Aneira**

**Akitla**

**Most of the names I had written down were names for different types of snow in other languages, 'Ounce' was just a name I came up with.**

**'So what do you think?' I asked my instinct, pointing at the screen. She grumbled about loss of sleep and started crossing out names. Here's what was left:**

**Names For the most awesome conscious ever:**

**Ounce??**

**Shiya**

Pyry -

**Neva**

**Neiva**

**Kaneq**

**Hiko**

**Eryi**

**Eira**

**Chilam**

**Anniu**

**Aneira**

**Akitla**

**I almost laughed at the watered down list in front of me. I never would have expected a snow leopard to be so handy, with my hands. 'What's the deal with Ounce? Is that supposed to be a joke?' 'No, it's just something they nicknamed _Uncia uncia_.' 'Oh. My favorite is Pyry. It's sounds like pie-rye.' 'It's pronounced pie-ry, not pie-rye.' 'Says you. I'll pronounce it however I want to. It is, after all, my name.' 'Kay. So your name is Pyry?' 'Yes. I am now called Pyry. Good night.' I smiled and turned off the computer. Jumping into bed to sleep for a couple more hours, I felt my mind give a gentle twang during my prayers. I shrugged and fell into the darkness of early morning.**


	15. Distaste

**Chapter 14**

**Distaste**

**Back in Logan's room the bed was overturned, the dresser drawers were thrown about, and the closet was currently barfing out every single thing in it. After Logan had run to the bathroom, Wolverine had been picking the room clean for any trace of the person who had invaded it's den. He knew it had been the red-headed fire girl, but her scent was nowhere to be found. The only trace that was left was on the sleeping bag in the closet, but on the first whiff all he got was the smell of himself and the forest. On the second try, though, he discovered the familiar burning smell in the sleeping bag "Stupid kid. Just had ta sneak in my room an' wake me up." Logan mumbled to himself. "What's the matter with kids these days? Wakin' up early..." He continued on, while he slipped back into sleep.**

**Around 7 o' clock I awoke to Deatona shuffling around the dorm. "What are you doing?" I mumbled sleepily. "Getting ready for the day, of course. You should get ready too. It's time for breakfast." "How would you know? Didn't you just get here?" "Hello? Telepathic abilities in the dorm, thank you very much." "Oh. Right." I replied, getting out of bed and dressing into a plain white t-shirt and jeans. Seeing the disapproving look Deatona gave me while I was putting a white bandanna through my hair I asked annoyed, "What?" "You do realize that there are colors out in the world?" "Yeah, I do." "Than wear them!" she exclaimed, turning my shirt a pastel orange and the bandanna red and orange tie dye. I rolled my eyes, shrugged, grabbed my diary bag, and headed out the door. "Wait for me!" she called back, pulling a ponytail through her black hair and grabbing her schedule. I stood half way to the school doors and sighed. 'Let's go already!' I called back to her. 'I'm coming!' she replied and a couple seconds later we were on our way through the doors.**

"**Are you okay?" Deatona asked me at the table. "What? Oh, yeah. I'm good." I replied, coming back down out of the clouds. My head had been hurting while we stood in the lunch line and I had been ignoring our conversation. 'You don't look good.' she continued, telepathically for my sake. We were sitting at a lunch table alone, but the tables around us were full of kids. 'I feel fine okay? My head just hurts a little.' Deatona looked up at me and shot me a look. 'I'm telling the Professor.' 'What? Why?!' 'He told the teachers to tell him if you had a headache.' 'You're not a teacher. And it's not a headache! It just twangs a little. Not yet okay? I can control it.' I pleaded. 'Okay. But if it gets worse, even a little bit, i'm telling Xavier.' 'Kay.' I let out a sigh of relief. I didn't want the Professor worrying about my control, and I didn't want to let him down on my first day.**

"**So. You know Joseph?" Deatona asked. "Yeah. He invited me to hang out with him sometime." "Really?!" she shrieked quietly. "Uh, yeah. Why?" 'He's cute!' I laughed and found milk squirting out of my nose. "Ow!" I cried out, and Deatona laughed at the scene I had made. The milk bottle was on the floor, spilling the rest of the milk on the floor, and I was holding a napkin up to my stinging nose. "'S not funny." I stated, my voice sounding funny because my nose was plugged. 'Really? I thought it was.' Pyry said laughing. 'Oh, shut up.' Pyry raised her eyebrows and growled, receding back into me. "So." I said, and then telepathically speaking,'What do you mean by 'He's Cute'? Cause I really don't get this.' 'Um...What's there to get? I like him. And the fact that he invited you to hang out with him means that I can hang out with him. See?' I raised my eyebrows. 'That's great, but i'm not lettin' you use me. Just forget it. Boys aren't worth the trouble. Especially high school mutant boys.' Deatona pouted. 'Please?' 'No.' She rolled her eyes and sighed, 'Fine, but you owe me. Big time.' 'Kay. What do you have in mind?' 'I want you to help me with a prank.' I looked up at her suspiciously. 'I didn't know you were a prankster.' 'There's a lot you don't know about me. So will you help or not?' 'Of course! So who's the prankee?' Deatona smiled and signaled me closer. She told me her plan and I smiled evilly. 'This is going to be fun.' Pyry commented with a toothy smile. 'I have to agree with you on that one.'**


	16. Mind Tricky

**Chapter 15**

**Mind Tricky**

**After breakfast, Deatona and I left to our classes, and I found myself training with Professor Xavier in his office. "You will need to be able to protect yourself from physic attacks, so we'll begin with mind probing. I'll read your mind and I want you to try to block me out." "Okay." I said uneasily. Suddenly, Pyry growled and I felt the strange sensation at the back of my head. I closed my eyes tightly and concentrated on the feeling. I felt it see me and send a challenge. Pyry snarled and attacked the stranger. She didn't like another presence sharing my body and she was going to defend her home. I concentrated further and joined into the brawl. **

**'Get-out-of-my-head!' I yelled at the stranger, while trying to get a hold of him with my vines. My eyes had turned a dark green and red while trying to block the stranger with metal covered vines and flames. Pyry had been using my powers too, and had covered herself with metal. After what had seemed an hour in my head, Pyry got a hold of the stranger and battered him down with her claws, while I began to cover him with adamantium. Once that was done we shoved him out and waved good bye. 'That was fun.' Pyry stated, breathing hard. 'Yep, thanks Pyry.' 'Anytime.' she laughed, 'I do live here.' 'Right.' I said with a final wave and fluttered my eyes open. "Did I block you? It felt like forever." I asked Xavier. He was staring at me with deep intensity, but he didn't look angry, he just looked confused. "Yes. You blocked my mind probing, but you did it in a way I wouldn't see possible." "What way is that? Fighting it?" "Yes, and no. You attacked me, but you were with another presence already." "Oh." My eyes going wide. Guess the Professor didn't know about Pyry. 'Should I tell him? Or leave it in the dark? He'll probably figure it out later, might as well tell him now.' "Well, about that Professor... I don't know how to tell you this." I tried. "I guess, well...let's just put it this way. You know about Logan and his instinct?" "Yes." the Professor said confused. "I have her too. Well, except with it's a him and with me it's a her, but whatever. My instincts toke on a form of it's own when I was in Canada. She's been with me ever since." I said in a fast voice, rushing all the words together seamlessly. "Her?" Xavier asked. "Yeah. Her name's Pyry. She's a snow leopard. She helped me fight you off." Xavier put his hands over his face. "When did she emerge?" he asked tiredly. "When I first got my powers, 'bout a year ago." I replied confused. "And you just let her loose? Let her take over?" "No! I'm under control." "But you let her roam free." I paused. "Is that bad?" "I don't know, Mack. I don't know. We''ll need to take more tests." **

**Logan entered the room saying, "What do you need Chuck?" I swung around. "What's he doing here?" I asked Xavier, confused even further. "I want to see how your instinct- Pyry, isn't it?- reacts to Logan's." "Wait Chuck. You're tell me that you want me to let go? Take it out on a kid?" "I am not a kid!" I spat out. Logan just ignored me and looked at Xavier. "Yes. I am. We will, of course, be in a secluded area where you can interact freely." "Pyry isn't a little ball of fluff Professor. You saw what she can do, and you were only in my mind! And I know Wolverine isn't a pink bunny either, but don't you think it'll be dangerous for Logan? Him not being able to control Wolvie?" "I know fully of the dangers this poses-" "Wolvie ain't my name Ms. Adamantium." "Pyry ain't mine either." I replied. 'Stop it you two. It's just an experiment.' the Professor scolded. "So we're an experiment now?" I said gingerly. "You know what Chuck? I don't think Mack here can keep control as you thought. But I have ta agree with her. We're not test subjects ta be poked and prodded." "Look, both of you. This is to see if Pyry poses a threat to Mack." 'A threat?! I'm a threat all right, Baldy! To you!' Pyry snarled. "I'm sure you are Pyry. This is just an experiment. Nothing personal to you or Mack." Xavier said, speaking to Pyry as he heard the comment. I sighed heavily. "All right Xavier. I'll do it. But where are we going to do it?" "In the Danger Room. I'll ask Kitty to set up a stimulation. In the meantime, I suggest that both of you get ready. Be at the Danger Room in an hour. You are both dismissed." "Thanks." I said, walking out the door. I shut the door and overheard Logan arguing with the Professor. Rolling my eyes, I walked off to find**

**Deatona to set our prank in motion.**


	17. Prankers and Prankees

**Chapter 16**

**Prankers and Prankees**

**Hiding behind a strange equipment in the gym, I stifled a giggle. "Shh." Deatona whispered. 'We don't want Mr. Logan to catch us!' 'I know. It's just so funny!' I answered. We had been hiding for 30 minutes watching Logan practice fighting a punch bag. When everyone else had left, I locked the doors and opened the windows so I could blow our scents out the windows without Logan finding us. 'Now!' Deatona said and I started working on my job. All I had to do is make Logan sleep. It looked like an easy job, and you know what? It was. "Sleep" I whispered, and Logan fell on the ground with his claws still out, snoring loudly. "High five!" said Deatona, jumping up from behind our hiding place. I slapped her hand and we ran over to Logan. "You're turn." I said, grabbing his hand and giving it to Deatona. She giggled as his claws turned a hot pink in her hands and then passed them to me, while picking up the other hand. I snickered as tiny engravings appeared on the adamantium claws. He would hate me after this but he'd have to be nice if he wanted them back to normal. And he'd let Wolverine roam free faster in the Danger Room. Just then, Bamf, Deatona and my eyes went wide as we saw Nightcrawler standing right behind us. "Uh. Hi Kurt..." I said, trying to get in front of Logan's claws. "What are you two doing with Logan?" he asked us. "Uh..." Deatona stalled. "We're giving him a makeover." I blurted out. Deatona gave me a dirty look and Kurt laughed. "Let me see!" We both showed him Logan's claws. "Hi. My name is Santa Claws, but you may call me Sponge bub Claw pants. I enjoy gutting people with my pink tweezers." Kurt said, reading the claws on Logan's right hand aloud. "Why you do dis?" he asked, trying not to laugh. "He's the easiest person to play a prank on. And he'd make a big deal about it." Deatona answered, calming down. "He'll skin you alive." "No he won't. He won't be finding out about these until the Danger Room session with the resident elementalist. She'll keep his claws sheathed until then. It's the perfect plan!" I smiled and ordered the pink claws back in his hands. "Don't tell him! Please!" I shouted, running to the doors and wiping every trace of myself and Deatona from the gym. Deatona ran in front, unlocked the doors, and shoved me outside. 'Five...' We ran as hard as we could to the dorm. 'Four...' Running out the doors and out onto the field we tripped on a bench. 'Three!' 'Get up!' Jumping up, I grabbed Deatona's hand and pulled her to the dorm. 'Two...' We unlocked the door and burst through. "One!" I shouted and let Logan wake up. "What do you see?" I asked Deatona. "Sending Kurt's images to you.." she answered. I laughed out loud. Logan had been startled by Kurt standing over him and had responded by punch Kurt in the gut. "Ouch." I cringed, feeling sorry for Kurt. Logan was asking what had happened and when Kurt didn't answer he got nervous and started searching the gym, sniffing and testing the air. He asked Kurt again and when he got no answer he tried to unsheathe his claws. Finding that he couldn't he accused Kurt and Kurt responded by teleporting out of the gym. He was smart enough to leave. "He's going to kill me in half an hour." I said. "Yep." "Thanks." "You did it!" "You were the whole mastermind!" "Yeah, but you helped." I rolled my eyes and sat down on my bed. "So..." "What do you want?" "Well, you know about Pyry?" "Yeah." "Could I, well, would you let me..." "What?" I asked, suddenly worried. "Would you let me meet her? In person?" **


	18. Lesser Being

**Chapter 17**

**Lesser Being**

"**What?! You want me to release a bloodthirsty leopard who enjoys killing things and showing off just so you can meet her?! That's what you want me to do?!" "I didn't know it was that bad. But yes, I do. Just for, like, a minute." "You're joking. You've got to be joking. Like I told the Professor, Pyry ain't a little ball of fuzz. She's a pure instinct to defend, fight, and kill. I just can't let her take control to talk! She doesn't talk much when she's in control anyways." "She talks to you a lot." "Yeah, because she's me! She lives inside me!" "Come on! One minute! I'll tell Logan what you did to his claws if you don't." "You did that too!" "Yeah, but he doesn't know that." I rolled my eyes. "Fine. One minute. Here's the rules: No sudden movements, No fear, Don't make her angry, Don't act like prey, Don't let her leave." "Okay." 'Pyry?' 'What?' 'You want out for a minute?' 'Sure! Wait, what's the catch?' 'Rules. You can't leave the dorm, let me take control after a minute is up, and no killing, hurting, or scaring. Oh, and you need to talk to Deatona.' 'That's it?' 'Yep.' 'Wow thats easy.' "I'll be back in a minute Deatona. Pyry's coming out to see you." "Cool!" she replied. I rolled my eyes and then let Pyry loose.**

**Deatona noticed something change about me. She saw a wildness come to my eyes and not only that, my eyes changed from their usual off-white, to a striking light blue that only a snow leopard could have. "Hello? Pyry, isn't it?" Pyry shifted her gaze to Deatona and said in a low and menacing voice, "You be Deatona, the telepathic color changer?" "Uh, yeah. I'm Deatona, Mack's roommate." "Mack." Pyry said smiling, "Mack is my supporter, my life. You are Mack's friend?" "I guess so." "Good. If you Mack's friend then you my friend. What do you do around here?" Pyry said, standing and looking around the room. "Well, we sleep here and do homework. We do a lot more stuff outside." "Oh?" Pyry said, trying to find out more. "Yeah. So, what is it like? You know, being an instinct? Being inside Mack?" "It normal for me. I born in her and I live in her. Being instinct is what I do for living. I am her reflexes and her guidance. I help her survive so I survive also. Being inside her is seeing and doing everything she does, but not being to control anything but myself. I feel what she feels, I see what she does. I react inside, not outside where everyone can see." "Mack said you weren't so talkative." "Just because I do not choose to talk to lesser beings does not mean I am not talkative. Mack is coming back soon. Any more questions?" "What can you do?" Pyry raised her eyebrows. "What can I do? What kind of question that? I can do anything Mack can do. Good Bye Deatona." "Uh, see ya Pyry." Deatona saw my eyes change back to their normal white and said, "That was weird." "Ha. How so?" I asked, suddenly nervous. 'What did you do?' 'I didn't do anything! All I did was talk. It was very boring.' Pyry answered indignitly. 'Good.' "Well, your eyes changed, she talked weird, and oh, she thinks i'm a 'lesser being'. What does that mean?" Deatona said huffily. "Well, I would think that she meant that she was more experienced than you. I'm just glad she didn't freak you out by talking about blood and gore." "Nah, I just asked her some questions." "Good. I'm gonna start headin' over to the Danger Room. Pyry's getting mad about only being let out for a minute." "Kay. Don't get clobbered into oblivion by Wolverine." Pyry rolled her eyes. "As if he could." she stated out loud. "See ya Dea." I called back, walking out the now blue door.**


	19. Pink Spandex!

**Chapter 18**

**Pink. Spandex.**

**When I had gotten to the Danger Room I was met by Dr. McCoy and Rogue. "What are you two doin' here?" I asked. "We're here to watch the fight." Hank said openly. "What fight?" "Hank, she doesn't know. Don't give anything away." Rogue whispered quickly. "What fight?" I repeated, getting angry at all this secrecy. "Um. You tell her Rogue." Beast muttered hastily. "Thanks Hank." Rogue replied. "This is how it is. We all, which means the X-men, made bets on what would happen between you and Logan. It's no offense to you of course." "Oh. What makes you think there'll be a fight?" Pyry chuckled, 'There'll be a fight if he annoys me...' 'Shush it Pyry.' "Well, depending on how we know Logan's personality, we're pretty sure that there'll be a fight somewhere along the line." Hank said. "Depending on how well I know Pyry, there probably will be a fight." "Wait. Who's Pyry? I thought you and Logan were going to do a fighting sequence." "Oh. Well...Pyry is me. Y'know? Like Logan has Wolverine? Mack has Pyry. Yep...that's basically it." "Oh. Well, I hope we didn't stop whatever you were doing so..." "Yeah. See ya." I said, walking into the control/observation room.**

"**Oh. Um hi." I said, finding Cyclops and Xavier in the room. "Am I interrupting anything?" "No. We were just getting ready for the experiment. Have a seat Ashley." Xavier said, gesturing towards a steel chair. I sighed. 'Might as well give up. He's going to call you that from now on. That is, until we become part of the team and get a name...' 'Aw, shut it Py. Being called Ashley by the Professor isn't so bad. No one else has that privilege though.' 'Riiiiight.' "So. How are you exactly 'getting ready?'" I asked, straying from the conversation with Pyry. I was also trying to make the tension on my line with Scott go away. It wasn't helping my reactions none. "Well, we're upgrading the defense mechanics and creating a new scenario that will suit both your 'tastes'." I raised my eyebrows slightly. "Wow. Just for this 'experiment'?" "When you're dealing with Logan, you take...necessary precautions." Cyclops stated. "Oh." Man! The tension in the air was killing me. 'I need to go talk to Deatona about this...' Pyry jumped up at my idea. 'NO! No no no no no no! You are not doing that! Are you kidding me?! No!!' I didn't answer and just smiled a smug smile. Pyry growled and sat down, dumbstrucked at my alarming idea. 'I hate you.' 'Love you too sweetie.' was my answer.**

**After a grueling time spent in the control room, I finally got to get 'suited up' for the experiment. Storm had given me the worst thing ever. A pink spandex costume. My eyes went wide. "Are you kidding me?! This is what you wear?! No! Sorry Storm. But no. Just no way am I wearing that." "It's all we had left in the closet that would fit you. It's very...colorful." "I am not wearing this. This is next to having to go to battle naked! Sorry, but I can't wear this." "You have to. It's designed for the Danger Room sequences." "And who designed it?!" "Scott or Beast did..." Storm said softly. I sighed. "Couldn't I just go Colossus? It would be so much more comfortable." "Colossus? What does he have to do with this?" "You know. Turning to metal and everything. Why can't I just cover my normal clothes in vines or something?" "Let's just see it." She said exasperatedly. I griped and groaned as I got in the pink thing. Walking out of the dressing room I spread out my hands above my had and twirled in a circle. "Ta daa!" I said in my girlish voice possible. Storm guffawed and tried not to laugh any louder. "Thanks. I'm a real riot. I know." I stated angrily, all the time covering my body in vines and walking out of the dressing room. Storm followed behind me. "The Danger Room won't accept your signature with all those vines." "I'll manage." I said huffily. Arriving at the doors I said, "See you soon Storm." "Good luck." she responded and walked to the control room. "Signature?" "Ashley Mack" "Error. Scan incomplete." I rolled my eyes and the vines gradually fell away. "Scan complete. Welcome Mack." I walked in and felt my connections go crazy with amusement. I glared up at the window where the control room was and felt the lines go tense as I burst into flames and released a lot of smoke into the air. I smiled to myself. Seeing Logan ahead I called, "What now?" "We wait." The room flickered and turned into a forest. A heavily foliaged Canadian forest. "And then we release. Nice suit there, by the way." "Shut up you weakling!" Pyry shouted as she pushed to the surface. 'Let me GO! I want to rip him to shreds!' 'Now Professor?' 'I advise giving her the rules. You have ten seconds before Logan let's go. Good luck.' 'Thanks Xavier. Listen! Pyry, you can do whatever you want but don't kill him. Try to understand and be open. You don't have to fight the whole time. I'm letting you run free for 3 hours. But I'll be watching.' 'K Mack! Just let me out!' '1 second Ashley.' 'K. You're free to go.'**


	20. To Fight or Not To Fight?

**Chapter 19**

**To Fight or Not To Fight?**

**In the Control Room**

"**What are they doing?" Warren asked, observing the scene below. They had all seen Mack's red eyes change to Pyry's blue ones and the fire on her body die down immediately. Her stance had changed too. It was seemed she had tried to flatten her body close to the ground and be ready to attack at the same time.**

**Meanwhile, they saw Logan shift into Wolverine. He had also changed his stance, but he stood legs apart and hands outspread. They could see him flexing the muscles that would shoot his claws out in a moments notice. "I don't know. I don't understand either of them." Rogue answered.**


	21. Always With the Claws

**Chapter 20**

**Always With the Claws**

**Back in the Danger Room**

"**Silly Wolverine. Always with the claws yes?" Pyry sneered. "Is that the only weapon you have?" She growled. Of course, Pyry had a reason to be so bitter, she wasn't a monster. She had learned from Mack to be at least a little understanding. Pyry hated how people underestimated her power and how they challenged her host. "Shut yer yap and maybe we'll get along." Wolverine said sarcastically. "Who said anything about getting along? I have no interest in you, mammal." "Mammal? Aren't you supposed ta be a leopard? Lets hear you roar." Pyry let out an earsplitting roar and ran up to Wolverine, about two inches from his face and spat, "How's that?" "Not too shabby." Pyry turned her back and ran into the trees calling behind her, "Let's see how fast a short wolverine can run!" Wolverine snarled and ran after her.**

**Pyry enjoyed cat and mouse games, it made her feel more in touch with herself. That is, the animal part. Spending time in a human body was nice and everything, opposable thumbs and all, but what she really wanted was to resort to her true self, the snow leopard inside her."I wonder, would Mack's power let me do that?" She said as she ran throughout the trees. Coming to a gigantic tree, she stopped and stared up. Looking around, Pyry jumped at the tree and heard the satisfying sound of claws meeting bark. Climbing higher she felt herself changing. Smiling down at Wolverine's small figure below she called down from a shaded area saying, "Good work Wolverine! Didn't think you'd make it this far." He snarled up at her leering face and started climbing, adamantium cutting through tree like a fork through jell-o. When he had come up close enough he looked shocked. "You. You're a-" "Yep. I'm me. Completely." Pyry said as she licked her paw. "Have you ever wanted to be released from that?" "If I was released than I'd still be him. He has never let me be free to grow, so I am not an animal." Pyry scoffed. "Not an animal? You have claws for earths sake! All I see is an animal hiding inside another animal. You need freedom to grow." "And you need to be brought down from yer pedestal!" Wolverine said as he jumped at her. Then he found himself falling and staring up at Pyry's furious face. Upon impact he heard his arm pop out of place and groaned in response. Looking up at the tree he had just fallen from, Wolverine couldn't see Pyry anywhere. Couldn't hear or smell her either. 'What?' he thought as he was thrown into the air. He landed on his feet and glanced around. No one was there. "Come on out Kitty! You know you want to fight! I'm the perfect punching bag!" "Right you are." a silky voice came behind his ear. "Don't turn around mammal. Or you're head is as good as gone." He growled in reply and found himself flying, again. Pyry followed close behind, looking up constantly to make sure she could still see Wolverine. 'Why does this always happen with me?' he thought as he was flying through the air. Pyry just grimaced as she ran through the trees. 'I just want to fight. I should stop throwing and start ripping.' 'Or you could try to talk...' Pyry growled in reply to my advice. Wolverine landed on top of a pine tree, which didn't like him much for landing on top of it, who broke. Pyry came to the ground where Wolverine was unconscious. Smiling maliciously, she had her paw covered with a 3 foot long adamantium spike and drove it into his back. Releasing the spike from her paw and covering Wolverine with bars. 'Wait, what did you do?!' I screamed at Pyry, trying to take control. 'All I did was stab him...' 'And leave it there?! Oh, you're in major trouble Pyry.' Finally taking control I found that I was crawling on all fours. "What?! Pyry!" I said in frustration. Focusing on my human form I found I couldn't change back. 'Pyry...' She growled a warning at something and I jumped to look at Wolverine. Once I had gained control, all the metal had dissipated, freeing Wolverine. In an angry rage. Who was running right at me. "Joy." I said sarcastically. Jumping was the only option I had at the time, so I toke it. At 10 feet in the air, I reckoned Wolverine's 5 foot 3' couldn't harm me. Coming back down, however, was a different matter. He had stopped and waited with claws outstretched underneath me. My eyes went wide and I called out, "Wait!". But nothing could stop the rage that had emerged and I fell into the cold and hard claws. I could heal scratches, not punctures. He ripped them out with vigor and was about to slice me into pieces, until, in my last attempt to save myself, I covered him in flames and shut him in a claw-proof box. Then I blacked out.**


	22. Lies and Pain

**Chapter 21**

**Lies and Pain**

**I hurt all over. I couldn't even feel Pyry in the back of my head, the pain was so great. Keeping my eyes closed (those hurt too) I went over the room. Oh. I was in the medical lab. Again. But wh- OH! The memories hit me like a semi truck. Everything came back, from the control room to the black out. Ick. I was beginning to hate this room. Goosebumps crawled up my arms and legs as something cold and hard touched my head. So, naturally, I turned metal. "Huh?" a voice above me said. "I have a couple of questions. First, am I still covered in fur?" I prayed the answer was a no. "Uh, no." "Good." I sighed in relief. "Second, is Wolverine okay? I kinda burned him...alive." "He's fine." Wait. I knew that voice, it was Storm. "Hey, Storm? Uh, am I gonna be kicked out now? For, you know, almost killing a teacher?" "Of course not! We now have even more reason to keep you here!" "Oh. That's good, I guess..." I opened my eyes slowly and found I couldn't see. "Um. Storm? Why can't I see?" She didn't answered. "Storm? I know you're there. I can feel you, sorta. You're kinda fuzzy at the moment. Storm, just answer me. I can't take it. Am I blind?" More silence. With following goosebumps. Wonderful, like a million needles on my body with my current pain felt better. "Storm, if you don't answer me I'll...I'll leave." She sighed. "You just have bandages over your eyes." "Oh...Wait. Why?" "Because..." "Because you were bleeding all over the tile, that's why." A new voice sounded loudly. "Bobby!" "It's true! Hank bandaged her up cause she bleeding stuff on the table!" "What?! Bleeding what stuff?" I asked with a growl. "Hank doesn't know. It was Technicolor blood I guess. Different colors and everything, coming out your wounds and eyes and nose and mouth and-" "Bobby Drake get out this instant!" Storm interrupted. I grimaced at the thought of bleeding everywhere. Technicolor blood? What's the deal with that? Ugh. I felt horrible. Than even worse when a thought struck me. "Storm? How long since I was in the Danger Room?" "You've been unconscious for two weeks. We thought you were going to die until Hank could hear your heart start again." I remained silent and sat up, ripping off a piece of bandage on my eyes in frustration. And felt the aftershock shoot through my chest. "Argh!" I hissed through clenched teeth as the burning subsided. "Ashley! What are you-" "My name ain't Ashley, Storm. It's Mack. I need to get out of these stuffy things as quickly as possible. I can heal the outside, just not the inside. That is if the inside healed or not. I need a mirror." She sighed heavily and walked out the Medical Bay. There was no point in arguing with me now.**

**Taking off the bandages around my head and then my torso, I gasped. The wounds were covered in ointment, but I could see through the clear paste that the damage I had suffered was a lot more than I was used to. And I hadn't even been the cause of it! There were six gaping holes in my stomach and below my ribcage, all red like I had just been cut, but there was something even more unnerving. I had stains across my torso from whatever Bobby had been talking about. The technicolor blood had dried in stains around the wounds and I grimaced. I'm a outsider in a mutant community, it couldn't get any worse than that.**

**Once Storm had brought back a mirror, and Dr. McCoy, I healed myself and jumped off the bed. "Can I leave now? I mean, I have been here for 2 weeks..."**

"**No. I need to make sure you've completely healed. Logan's claws did go all the way through..." Dr. McCoy replied. "Speaking of Logan, what happened after I blacked out? I didn't get much out of Ms. Monroe here." "Ah, well, it would be better if you got your rest-" "No. I want to know what happened." I said dangerously. Dr. McCoy sighed heavily and started recalling what had happened after my blacking out.**


End file.
